


Coda

by MissjuliaMiriam



Series: Willow [7]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Coda, Eavesdropping, Gen, Philosophy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 09:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6698875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissjuliaMiriam/pseuds/MissjuliaMiriam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A coda to Heroes, wrapping up the Willow series once and for all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coda

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this really IS the end. As much as I'd like to say that I'll one day write more in this series, I probably won't; to me, it feels finished. Thank you all for walking down this long, long road with me. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.
> 
> (I know this is not the last fic in the series, but it's meant to be read right after Heroes, so.)

Fenris pauses at the corner of the hallway, listening to the quiet voice he hears up ahead. He'd come looking for Hawke, but he doesn't want to interrupt, not when both she and Nirem sound so solemn. He can speak to her in a moment, or at another time. For now, though...

"Why choose me, Nirem?" Hawke asks, her voice ragged with exhaustion after the long journey back to Skyhold. "Stroud was a good man. The Wardens needed his leadership. I'm nothing, just another rabble-rousing mage as far as half of Thedas is concerned - sparing me will earn you no favour for the Inquisition, or with most of your companions."

Nirem is quiet for a long moment. Then he says, "Maybe it's naive. People have called me that a lot - _naive._ They're probably not wrong. I came of age only three years ago, and the Dalish are far removed from the workings of shemlen society even at the best of times. But... I believe that this world needs heroes. To lead, to inspire, to make promises that are kept and promises that are broken. Heroes teach us lessons beyond those that we can learn from our neighbours, and though some would say those those lessons are storybooks morals and dreams, I would say that that makes them all the more powerful. The Fade is as real as anything, and that is where all dreams are born.

"Who I am today is because of the heroes I chose as a child; the same is true for us all, in one way or another. And no matter what else you are, Hawke, whether you are a rabble-rouser or a revolutionary, you _are_ a hero - you were one of mine, once. And that means you have power. So: I chose you over Stroud, and I sent a good man to his death. I don't regret it. If you do, that's your concern."

 _He's grown_ , Fenris thinks, and leans back against the wall, breathing out a quiet breath. If Hawke responds to Nirem, Fenris doesn't hear it. He's caught in his thoughts, turning Nirem's words over in his mind. About heroes, and the power they wield. A mighty thing, to be a hero. Fenris, once upon a time, was Nirem's greatest hero; now Nirem is a hero in his own right, grown from a boy with idols in his pockets to a man who stands not on a pedestal, but sits on a throne. Not a king, no one's master, only a single elven man, and for all that, the greatest hero of the age.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are welcome, as always.


End file.
